this is "newsline." welcome. glad you could join us. it is wednesday, september 8th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. the latest u.s. media poll shows that the public approval rate for u.s. president barack obama has fallen below 50% for the first time since he took office. in a joint poll by abc news and "the washington post" last week, obama's public approval rating stood at 46%. this is down more than 20

percentage points from february, 2009, shortly after obama became president. on the economy nearly 70% said he is making it worse or having no real effect. nearly 60% said they disapproved of his handling of the federal budget deficit. when asked about the mid term legislative elections in november, respondents gave republican candidates a more than ten-point lead over the democrats. an alleged car bombing has left 16 people dead and more than 50 wounded in northwestern pakistan. the attack targeted police residences. the blast went off in the town of kohot tuesday night and destroyed more than ten buildings. officials say the victims include six police officers and their family members. pakistani authorities suspect islamic extremists were behind the attack using a car loaded with explosives. the blast comes a day after another bombing of a police station 80 kilometers south.

19 people were killed in that attack. pakistan has been dealing with devastating floods triggered by heavy rain in late july and authorities say islamic militants have ramped up operations while the government focuses on flood relief work. the japan coast guard has arrested the captain of a chinese fishing boat on suspicion of attempting to obstruct an inspection in japanese territorial waters. the 41-year-old chinese captain was arrested early on wednesday morning after his trawler collided with a japanese patrol ship off the senkaku islands in the east china sea on tuesday. coast guard officials say the trawler was operating in japanese waters. they also say the fishing boat ignored a warning to stop and collided with the two patrol ships as it fled. the fishing boat eventually stopped outside japanese waters and coast guard officials

boarded the trawler to question its crew. the officials concluded that the captain intentionally rammed his boat into one of the patrol ships to obstruct the inspection. chinese fishing boats are frequently seen in japan's exclusive economic zone near the islands and the coast guard repeatedly calls on them to halt operations. the senkaku islands are also claimed by china and taiwan. the japanese foreign ministry summoned a senior official of the chinese embassy to the foreign ministry on tuesday and lodged a protest. calling the chinese trawler's act vicious and regrettable the ministry requested that china step up its instructions on fishing boats operating near japanese waters. later in the evening prime minister naoto kan spoke to reporters.

meanwhile china's state run xinhua news agency reported the vice foreign minister summoned the japanese ambassador to china on tuesday. he reportedly urged japanese patrol ships to stop their illegal interception of chinese fishing boats. the japanese embassy in beijing says he responded by saying that japan cannot accept any blame for the incident. tropical storm malou is about to make landfall on the west coast of central japan. we have an update now. >> that's right. we are starting to see heavy rain erupting in tokyo as well as a storm system that has been with us for the past several days bringing torrential

downpours and strong winds in southern japan. let's take a look at the situation in western japan taken from earlier this morning. you can see commuters really contending with the heavy downpours as well as strong winds. about 200 millimeters are said to have accumulated in some areas. 240 millimeters have been recorded in one area. really staggering amounts and these are conditions we are expecting to see here in central japan as well. now the storm system is going to be making landfall in a couple hours' time. it has weakened quite a bit, maximum wind speeds 65 kilometers per hour, barely a tropical storm now. it will make its way eastward and then making its way to the south of tokyo in the next 24 hours. strong winds are going to be a concern but the main concern is the heavy rain out over a wide area all the way from the west up into the north as well.

and now let's take a look at the latest in business news. >> thank you very much. on the tokyo foreign exchange the dollar is hovering near a 15-year low in the 83 yen range on wednesday morning. the green back is currently trading between 83.70-74 while the euro is the 106.23-28. concerns of the global economic outlook prompted safe haven buying off the yen. many players are waiting for the u.s. federal reserve's facebook report on its economy due out later in the day. turning to stocks now the strong yen sent share prices tumbling in tokyo on wednesday morning led by exported related issues. the nikkei ended the morning session at 9,044 down 2%. investors also took their cue from an overnight sell off on wall street. and here is a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the

benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. and hopefully we can see the government bond next. here it is. in other asian markets hong kong's hang seng is now down more than 1%. the shanghai key index for major blue chips is down 0.8% while the sse composite is down half a percent. japan's current account surplus rose more than 26% in july the first increase in three months. the finance ministry released a report on wednesday. it's up 26.1% in yen trends from a year earlier. the trade surplus almost doubled to about $10 billion the result of growing exports of semiconductors and electronic parts to asia and automobiles to the u.s. meanwhile the income shrank by 17.7% to about $12 billion due mainly to lower

interest rates. the ministry says that exports have slowed down since the spring and it will keep a close watch on the impact of the appreciating yen. japan's machinery orders also rose in july up nearly 9% from the previous month. this marks the second straight month for an increase. the cabinet office said the total value of orders received by private sector firms in july stood about $9.1 billion up 8.8% in yen terms from june. the figure is regarded as a leading indicator for capital spending over the next few months. volatile orders for ships and power plants are excluded. by sector manufacturers saw a 10.1% increase while nonmanufacturers logged an 8.1% rise. the government maintained its assessment saying machinery orders are showing signs of recovery. china remains noncommittal to a request from japan to review its decision to cut rare

earth metal exports. a delegation from the japan/china economic council met senior officials of chinese ministry of technology in beijing on tuesday. the delegation included the chairman of the japan business federation and the toyota chairman. they asked china to review its decision to cut exports of rare earth metals on a large scale. the delegation also proposed technological exchanges regarding pollution caused by rare earth metal production as well as setting up a panel of government and private sector experts to discuss ways to tackle such pollution. china's officials said they would like japan to try to diversify imports of rare earth metals by contacting other countries that produce the metals such as canada and the united states. japan's foreign minister had also asked the chinese government not to cut its exports in a recent ministerial

meeting but china showed reluctance to do so. workplace depression is on the rise in japan. the incidents of clinical depression on the job have doubled in the past ten years and now affects more than 1 million workers. so how are companies dealing with depression? >> reporter: 1,600 people work at this i.t. firm in central tokyo. nearly 40 have taken sick leave because of depression. the company now has a special section designed to help such employees return to work. here they perform less demanding tasks and slowly ease back into the work environment. the company also holds weekly meetings to discuss employees' mental health concerns. >> i've been told that this person has no energy and never

smiles. >> reporter: all the directors and top managers at the company attend the meetings. section managers are required to report any signs of depression in employees such as lateness, unexplained absence, or decline in grooming. his family promised to contact me if he started to show symptoms like constant worry or trouble sleeping. >> translator: your first instinct is to reprimand an employee but in these meetings we try to increase understanding, that poor work performance can be a sign of depression. we instruct our managers to look for signs an employee might be depressed. >> reporter: another i.t. company is taking steps to prevent stress or reduce it among its a 00 workers. it has created an online bulletin board to encourage people who are working at their desks all day to communicate with each other.

this woman joined the company four years ago. until recently she was never sure who to ask about work-related issues and when it was appropriate. now she can just post her questions on the bulletin board without any hesitation. she got a reply about 30 minutes later. >> translator: everybody is always busy. i feel like i can't interrupt to ask a question. so i keep all my worries bottled up. but now with this site i can easily ask for help. >> reporter: ito's question was answered by this man who won an award last year for taking the initiative to respond to questions. the company recognizes employees who help alleviate stress in the workplace. >> i always try to respond to questions. people really appreciate it and that makes me happy.

>> reporter: the company has also revised some of its policies. men were previously required to wear a business shirt and tie. now they can dress in casual business wear as long as they look professional. the firm now also allows employees to ask their boss for a transfer to a different department if they feel the current position doesn't suit them. thanks to these measures the incidence of depression in the workplace has dropped by 50%. employees taking mental health leave has also fallen drastically. >> translator: corporate leaders have to understand that drastic changes in corporate culture and the work environment are needed to reduce the occurrence of mental illness in the workplace. >> reporter: human resources are a company's most valuable asset. business leaders are beginning to understand the urgent need to prevent workplace depression and

create an environment where employees can use their abilities to the fullest. next is a recap of the latest market figures. and now back to the main

news. >> thanks very much. japanese foreign minister cats yo okada and his german counterpart have agreed to step up cooperation in promoting nuclear disarmament. the two ministers met in berlin on tuesday. after the meeting they told reporters at a news conference that he will attend a foreign minister's meeting on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation in new york later this month. japan and australia have organized the meeting and about ten countries are expected to take part. >> recent outbreaks of a deadly bacteria in two hospitals in japan apparently started from patients who have never traveled abroad. experts say the superbug may be widespread in japan.

the university hospital in tokyo recently revealed nine patients who died in the hospital were infected by the drug-resistant bacteria called acinetobacter. the superbug has also infected 24 people at fujita health university hospital in central japan since february this year. it had been suspected that the superbug came from foreign countries. however, the two hospitals say the first patients thought to be infected had not traveled abroad. an expert on infectious diseases says the bacteria may have already been spreading in japan. >> japan has been ranked bottom among oecd member nations for public spending on education as a percentage of gdp. the organization for economic

cooperation and development published a report on tuesday that reviews member countries' education policies in 2007. the report says spending on education by japan's national and local governments accounted for 3.3% of gdp. the figure was unchanged from the previous year and was 1.5% below the average for the member nations. japan's ratio was the lowest among 28 comparable countries and was less than half the figure for iceland which was ranked the highest. meanwhile, household contributions to education expenditure in japan stood at 21.7%. for higher education, japanese households paid more than 51.1% of the cost. next a story about senior citizens and poor nutrition. many are paying a stiff price for not eating enough meat. we see how some seniors' health

improved after they began eating a balanced diet. >> reporter: this 89-year-old man has been having trouble walking. so for the past year and a half, he has been receiving hospital treatment. he developed sharp pains in his knees and hips. eventually, he couldn't walk on his own. his physician says that many elderly patients have the same problem. his diagnosis? malnourishment. the doctor points to a substance in the body which is a building block for muscles. the body makes it by consuming foods that are high in protein like meat and eggs. a blood test showed he didn't have enough of this substance. the level had fallen below the

average 3.7 which put him in the malnourished category. >> translator: it is very likely that poor nourishment is weakening the muscles. that shifts the balance between bones and joints and the body's structure as a whole. >> reporter: one of the reasons for his poor nourishment was a change in his diet. after he turned 80, he began to cut back on greasy meat dishes and eat more vegetables for the sake of his health. >> translator: i rarely eat meat these days. isn't that what most people do when they get old? >> reporter: many seniors believe that high protein foods like meat are unhealthy. this nonprofit organization advises senior citizens about

their health at the request of local municipalities throughout the country. the group recently surveyed 400 older people. all of them attended a class taught by the group. i was avoiding meat and eggs. i don't go out of my way to eat meat. many seniors said they weren't eating animal products. >> translator: we hear a lot about this. it appears many people have a wrong way of thinking that simple, plain food is good for longevity. >> reporter: this is the take ten approach to eating. it recommends a daily diet of meat, eggs, and eight other foods in balanced proportions. the group distributes a

checklist. >> we want them to know the important thing is to eat a wide variety of food in small quantities. >> reporter: he changed his diet. he is now trying to eat more protein like meat every day. on today's menu? beef. by adding vegetables and making sure his diet stays balanced, he says that slowly he is improving his ability to walk steadily. >> translator: it makes me want to walk a little better. i have to make an effort to be conscious of what i eat. hi there. welcome back to your world weather update. tropical storm malou is about to make landfall here in central japan but it is barely a tropical storm now and it has weak ebd quite a bit maximum

wind speeds down to 65 kilometers per hour. it looks like it will take a more east lir turn and could head toward the south of tokyo in the next 24 hours. still packing quite a punch bringing strong winds. the main concern is going to be the widespread heavy rain really impacting central areas up to 150 millimeters is likely in the next 24 hours. and you notice there is also a frontal system in place and that is going to be bringing some heavy showers up towards the north as well. a tropical depression in the south of taiwan continues to hover over the area. wet conditions, tropical downpours expected here and also down in the philippines. that will be making its way further toward the west into the east coast of china in the next 24 hours. much of mainland china looking at some showers down in the south also up in the north and look out for those heavy showers in isolated areas especially toward the west. taking a look at your temperatures, 30 degrees in chong ching.

28 in seoul. 34 in shanghai. now keeping an eye on tropical storm hermine across texas as well. this is now a tropical depression. it will, however, continue to drench the area with heavy showers especially in central and northern texas in the next 24 hours looking at rainfall to be more than 8 o millimeters as well. flooding is going to be a big concern and over the next few days that system is going to be making its way northward into oklahoma and kansas as well. toward the northeast it's also quite a stormy night especially around the great lakes into eastern canada looking at heavy rains as well as damaging winds, even large hail, and tornadoes, too, could erupt. behind it we've got cold air coming in from canada. that's going to drop temperatures significantly across the northern tier and then also into the great lakes. we also have some more showers for british columbia, the

pacific northwest, that will eventually make its way eastward and it will be developing later on in the week. 18 degrees in vancouver today, 18 in seattle and winnipeg 18 for you as well. here is the extended forecast now.

taking a look at our top stories once again the latest u.s. media poll shows that the public approval rate for u.s. president barack obama has fallen below 50% for the first time since he took office. in a joint poll by abc news and "the washington post" last week obama's public approval rating stood at 46%. this is down more than 20 percentage points from february, 2009, shortly after obama became president. on the economy nearly 70% said he is making it worse or having

no real effect. nearly 60% said they disapproved of his handling of the federal budget deficit. when asked about the mid termel november, respondents gave republican candidates a more than ten-point lead over the democrats. an alleged car bombing has left 16 people dead and more than 50 wounded in northwestern pakistan. the attack targeted police residences. the blast went off in the town of kohot on tuesday night and destroyed more than ten buildings. officials say the victims include six police officers and their family members. pakistani authorities suspect islamic extremists were behind the attack using a car loaded with explosives. the blast comes a day after another bombing of a police station 80 kilometers south of kohot. 19 people were killed in that attack. besides the bombings, northwestern pakistan has been dealing with devastating floods,

triggered by heavy rain in late july. authorities say islamic militants have ramped up operations while the government focuses on flood relief work. japan's current account surplus rose more than 26% in july. it was the first year on year increase in three months. the finance ministry released its preliminary report on wednesday. it says the current account surplus stood at nearly $20 billion. that's up 26.1% in yen terms from a year earlier. the trade surplus almost doubled to about $10 billion. that was the result of growing exports of semiconductors and electronic parts to asia and automobiles to the u.s. mean whooiile the income surplu shrank to about $12 billion due mainly to lower interest rates. the ministry says that exports have slowed down since the spring and it will keep a close watch on the impact of the

appreciating yen. and that concludes this edition of "newsline." thanks very much for joining us. we'll have more news updates at the top of the next hour. the top of the next hour. hope you join us then. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com